Chapter 7: After Party

The walk back to the guild was fairly uneventful, which the four of them greatly appreciated. Finn and Shion were practically escorting the other two back, guarding them from the small monsters that they came across. In the end, though, they didn’t have the energy to harvest anything worth selling, and so, besides the pouch of dirt marking their successful commission, went back empty handed. Halfway back, Magus’ arm had finally healed, and so their pace turned for the better, and they had arrived just as the moon began to shine in the sky, its white crescent hiding within the shine of the fading blue.

“Are you serious?” Faltith couldn’t help but gasp. “A Grim Diubh, so close to the forest’s edge?”

Finn had been the one to report the monster to the front desk, whereas Wyn immediately went to turn in the pouch of dirt. Shion and Magus, meanwhile, grabbed a table at the cafeteria, where the others soon joined them.

“Alright, so.” Wyn poured a small pile of coins onto the table. 15 guls total. “Time to split this.”

“This goin’ four ways, yea? Don’t think this breaks down easily…” Finn fidgeted with his fingers as he tried to divide the coins in his mind.

“You should split it three ways.” Magus said. “I don’t need any.”

“Hah?” Shion butt in. “Don’t be ridiculous. Everyone gets their fair share, that’s just how it is here. Sides, even if it’s all good now, you lost a leg! No way you ain’t gettin’ nothin’ for your troubles.”

“I must emphasize that this is unnecessary.”

“It’s not that big a deal.” Wyn chimed in, already dividing the coins into three piles of five. “Besides, I’m already handling all of his finances anyway, so my share is basically his share already.”

Finn and Shion each raised an eyebrow, but decided not to inquire any further.

“Fine, fine, split of three.” Shion waved dismissively. “At the very least, dinner‘s on us tonight, then!” He waved down a waiter, handing everyone a menu held in a pocket on the table.

Wyn was going to protest, but even Finn voiced his insistence. “You both did all the fighting today, anyway. At the very least, let us treat today’s heroes!”

“W-we weren’t heroes…” Wyn blushed, glancing away. With such passionate pleas, how could anyone refuse?

The dinner that night was a steaming pile of siejerog legs with various sauces. The lean meat had a nice chew to them, and the mild flavor paired well with the powerful sauces. Pretty soon, they had gone through their third plate, and they weren’t stopping any time soon. Even Magus had had a few legs himself, though what was more impressive was the fact that he had soon downed his sixth pint of beer that evening.

Shion, who had tried to match the pace, had collapsed before he could finish his. No more words would come out of that man’s mouth for the rest of the night.

“Man…” Finn began to talk as he worked on a beer of his own. “You were kinda incredible today, Wyn.”

“W-where did that come from?!” Wyn sputtered, choking on her own drink.

“Seriously. The magic that you used, incredible. I couldn’t ever imagine doing anything like that!” Finn laughed.

“You can’t use magic?”

“Hey, you gotta remember. This ain’t the capital or some other big city. We ain’t natural born magus’ like you folks are.”

“Oh… right.” Wyn mumbled, taking small, embarrassed sips of her water.

“You know, with that kind of fire power, anyone’d kill to get you on their team. How come you do nothing but solo missions?”

“Hmph.” Wyn scoffed. “If you hadn’t noticed, the rest of the guild aren’t exactly my biggest fans. If it weren’t for Magus, I doubt the two of us would ever talk.”

“Fair, fair. But you ain’t as… how do I put it… haughty? As you first seemed. Ain’t nothing like how a disgraced noble would act, anyway.”

“I’m not—!” Wyn started, before quieting down immediately. “I’m not a disgraced noble…”

“Well, I’m sure a noble’d have many reasons why they’d decide to come live at a place like this. Well, whatever the reason, Shion and I’ll put in a good word for ya with the rest of the guild.”

“... Thanks.” Was all she muttered back.

“Another drink!” Shion suddenly shot up from the table, shouting.

“Finish the drink you already got!” Finn responded, pouring the remaining glass into Shion’s mouth. Magus also moved to order another glass before Wyn pressed his arm back down.

“You’re cut off.”

Magus raised his nose and turned away.

“Don’t you scoff at me!”

The four of them bid a light-hearted farewell. Wyn watched as Finn slung the drunk Shion over his shoulder and meandered down the hall to their rooms. Wyn and Magus did the same, though Magus needed no slinging.

As soon as she unslung her sword and stripped her jacket, Wyn collapsed into bed with a groan.

“Today was exhausting!” She whined, the soft mattress muffling her cries.

“Was it? I thought it was a rather fun moment.”

“Of course you did, idiot.” She flipped onto her back, watching as the shadows of branches danced across her ceiling.

“Hey.” She sat up suddenly, her expression serious. “Don’t do that again, okay?”

Magus turned to her, surprised by the sudden change in expression. “Don’t do what again?”

“That… thing where you —” She took a deep breath, trying to form words. How do you ask someone to not try and save you? “Just — stop with those barriers, alright? It hasn’t worked, and… this time you lost a leg. What about next time?”

“We don’t know if it was just those specific barriers yet. Today, after all, I tried using a different barrier —”

“It’s… not going to work, okay?”

“Then am I supposed to just let you die? This cloth —” He raised an arm. “It’s clearly trying to keep me alive, at the very least. And it can repair even serious injuries. What about you? Can you repair the injuries I had sustained, had they happened to you?”

Wyn turned away, empty silence between the two of them.

“It’s not worth it…”

“Besides, if you die, I will cease either way. It would be illogical to —”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever!” Wyn groaned again, before storming off into the washroom. “I’m going to go wash, you better not be there when I’m done!”

“Can I—”

“No more money tonight! Hmph!” Wyn opened the washroom door again, only to slam it shut once more.

Without any money, there was no point in wandering the party hall again. And so, Magus was content spending his time wandering around the front entrance of the guild. He watched as adventurers came and went, chasing or returning from late night adventurers. Many headed straight into the party hall, others chasing a late night meal. Some just went straight back to their rooms, tired from a day of activity. He eyed an adventurer near the back of the mess hall, downing a cup of beer.

He made his way to the commissions board, giving it a glance up and down. There were some missing persons posters. Just as Wyn did, he grabbed them all, crumpled them into a ball and lit it on fire. He couldn’t help but wonder, for what reason she did such a thing. The rituals of humans were strange was the only conclusion he came to. Scanning the board again, he came across a poster of the Grim Diubh, very unlike the other posters of great monsters.

Warning, great danger in the south west of the forest. All commissions in the area are suspended, and military assistance is on its way.